Men talk unfair gender expectations
NOT many people shouted from the rooftops to honour men on International Men’s Day last Tuesday, although if we were being fair, men’s traditional roles are also defined by society; men are marginalised; and men, I believe, also encounter serious issues in reaching their full potential. And so, in recognition that there are also unfair perceptions and expectations of men in society, we asked some, what’s something society unfairly expects of your gender that no one talks about?
Markland, 32:
I am expected to earn more than my partner and be the head of my household, even though 75 per cent of college graduates are women, and girls outnumber boys in exam scores at all levels. So basically, if I don’t have a skill that’s ‘manly’, chances are, my partner will be more educated than I am, and so earn more, and if this happens, people will look down on me. The math just isn’t mathing.
Noel, 38:
I’m not supposed to say that I don’t ever want children, because apparently, not being a gelding is a rite of passage. I also have no control over my ‘fertility’, because a woman can trap me into having a child by lying about being on birth control, and then force me to be a father and put me on child support. And don’t come at me about my ability to use condoms and control my fertility, because a trickster woman can also compromise a condom.
Simon, 41:
Just because I’m male, everyone thinks I’m good with my hands, and can change oil and tyre and put a nail in the wall and kill cockroaches. So I can’t be a soft guy, worst, a soft, single guy, because everybody will assume that I’m gay.
Nathaniel, 36:
I’m the automatic protector and ninja and karate kid in scary situations, and it’s hell and powderhouse if I’m scared, too. If there’s ever a robbery and I run, or don’t challenge the gunman, I’m soft. So it’s better I die fighting, than try to protect my life, just because I’m a guy. I hate that.
Paul-Andre, 44:
It’s hypocritical that men must be experienced in the bedroom — so women are supposed to stay pure, but men are to be experienced. An inexperienced guy loses a lot of points. So if I don’t have a bag of women, something is wrong with me. Makes no sense.
